Now There's a Web Series About Growing Weed in a Brooklyn Brownstone

Thanks to Park Slope dad William Levin, a 44-year-old freelance animator who’s lived in the same brownstone on 3rd Street for 20 years, the neighborhood now has its own (much more tolerable) version of Williamsburg’s Bedford Stop.

The 14-part series, set to drop on the popular Weedmaps TV YouTube channel in just a couple weeks, is called ”Growing Community.” It’s the semi-autobiographical story of a middle-aged, work-from-home Park Slope dad who decides, amid shifting public opinion about marijuana, to become a semi-stoner himself, and — why not! — even grow a few plants in the window of his own Brooklyn brownstone.

“As the story unfolds, I guess the cycle of the plants parallels his relationships with his wife and his influential friend,” Levin told Patch over the phone on Monday night, amid words of reassurance to his fussing newborn.

“Things that happen with the weed happen with the characters,” he said.

The show is also, judging by the two episodes we previewed, a pretty accurate — and highly amusing — depiction of modern-day Park Slope.

“’I’ve got nannies on cellphones holding babies, ignoring babies,” Levin said. “I have the street cleaners coming by and ticketing cars. ... I make the food co-op a punchline in few episodes.”

Some parts may wax a tad sweet and/or silly, at least for the more cynical stoners among the Weedmaps base. But its addicting factor is its unwavering self-awareness: Levin draws honest characters, voiced by his real-life friends, who know who they are and how absurd their surroundings can be.

Speaking over the phone, Levin said he’s well aware, too, that his neighborhood’s casual brownstone grows and sidewalk vape culture are signs of its economic status.

“I’ve been here 20 years, and I really know Park Slope,” Levin said. “I know that while privileged adults here can sit on their stoop and drink a glass of beer or wine or smoke a cigar and not get in trouble, that would be completely different if you took the subway five stops over.”

“Now, it’s leaked into the weed world,” he added. “I see people sitting on their stoop or walking around the neighborhood smoking a J.”

“Growing Community” debuts later this month on Weedmaps TV. Shout out to Village Voice for the tip.